Notch Announces its Newest Release, Notch 2026.1, at ISE

For the last decade, Notch, the real-time workflow for the production of video content, live visual effects, VR, and interactive experiences, has been involved in countless tours, ceremonies, and immersive events. Now it is undergoing an upgrade.

For 12 months, the public Beta version of Notch 1.0 has been used by productions, from small to stadium-scale. Now the foundational release is feature-complete.

In a statement, the company says, "Notch adopts a new, clearer versioning structure: we're pleased to announce that 1.0 is now 2026.1. This isn't Notch standing still. Notch keeps evolving. Major versions will ship throughout the year, but 2026.1 is the stable, production-ready foundation everything builds on."

The new version has many new features. NURA (Notch Unified Rendering Architecture) lets users move between four rendering modes -- real-time performance to photorealistic quality -- without rebuilding their scenes. The new Sparse Multi-Grid Solver, Rigid Body Physics, Soft Bodies, and Cloth Deformers run at speeds and complexity that would break traditional workflows, the company says, adding that advanced ray tracing handles billions of polygons.

Also, Notch for After Effects is now in public Beta. With this new plug-in, users can embed Notch VFX Blocks directly into Adobe After Effects, enabling particles, simulations, and post-processing on their timelines. Motion designers get Notch's GPU-accelerated speed without sacrificing their After Effects pipeline, complete with the full parameter control they're accustomed to. Notch for After Effects can be used with a VFX or RFX license, or a dedicated Notch for After Effects machine license, which is being offered for free throughout 2026.